Categories
- Africa
- Air Travel
- Animation
- apps
- Architecture
- Art
- Asia
- Books
- Bookstore Tourism
- Canada
- Car rentals
- Cartography
- Comics
- ebooks
- Europe
- Film
- Freedom of Speech
- History
- Hotels
- Libraries
- Maps
- Middle East
- movies
- Museums
- Music
- Photography
- Public Transport
- Restaurants
- South America
- Tech
- Theater
- Tourism
- Travel Writing
- Uncategorized
- USA
- Writing
Share this Blog
Translate
-
Category Archives: History
Dance Macabre
La portentosa vida de la muerte (The Prodigious Life of Death) by Joaquín Bolaños, is a late 18th century Mexican novel that stars Death as a female protagonist ( la muerte in Spanish is a feminine noun). The story begins in the Garden … Continue reading
Monsters In Philadelphia
With Frankenstein and Dracula, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker created two of history’s most memorable monsters. Two hundred years after Frankenstein was published, pages from Mary Shelley’s manuscript will make their only appearance in the United States, to be displayed for the first … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Museums, Tourism, USA, Writing
Tagged Bram Stoker, Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Rosenbach
Leave a comment
Isn’t It Romantic
England’s famed Lake District has recently been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage region, but it has long attracted literary tourists and nature lovers. The Craig Manor Hotel on beautiful Lake Windermere has produced the charming infographic below … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Europe, History, Hotels, Tourism
Tagged Beatrix Potter, Cumbria, England, Lake District, Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth
Leave a comment
Our Own Champs Elysees
This month, Philadelphia is launching a year-long+ celebration of the creation of our own version of the Champs Elysees—the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. While it may never be as grand as Paris’ great boulevard, it is a mile-long artery lined with … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art, History, Libraries, Museums, Public Transport, Tourism, USA
Tagged Ben Franklin, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Free Library, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Leave a comment
How Meta
I ran across the gif above on a book blog and was skeptical when it was described as a clip of Humphrey Bogart on the set of Howard Hawks’ 1946 film noir classic The Big Sleep. With just a little sleuthing, I … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Film, History, movies, USA, Writing
Tagged Film Noir, Howard Hawks, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Raymond Chandler, William Faulkner
Leave a comment
Another Roadside Attraction
Historian and self-taught photographer John Margolies spent the last three decades of the 20th century wandering the back roads, small towns, and old highways of the U.S. capturing images of a disappearing culture. His saturated Kodachrome images of kitsch signage, … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art, History, Hotels, Museums, Photography, Public Transport, Restaurants, Tourism, Uncategorized, USA
Tagged Drive-in theater, Library of Congress, mini golf, roadside advertising
Leave a comment
Manhattan Cowcatcher
I recently read Kim Stanley Robinson’s outstanding—but way too long—climate change, post-apocalyptic, science fiction novel “New York 2140.” Although much of the plot takes place in Manhattan’s Met Life Building, the characters frequently comment on the neighboring Flatiron Building. It … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Books, History, Tourism, USA
Tagged Flatiron Building, Manhattan, New York City, skyscrapers
1 Comment
Look to the Skies
With the solar eclipse less than a week away, much of North America is looking to the skies.
Miracle of Dunkirk
I had the opportunity to see Christopher Nolan’s exceptional film Dunkirk this past weekend and have been ruminating on the experience since. I won’t spoil the film by commenting much on the content, however I strongly urge you to view it on … Continue reading
Total Eclipse of the Sun
Here in North America, we are getting almost giddy about the upcoming solar eclipse which will occur on Monday, August 21, 2017. Unfortunately for me, my region of the U.S. will only be in a partial eclipse zone. Way back … Continue reading
Posted in Art, History, Public Transport, Tourism, USA
Tagged New England, solar eclipse, Train Travel
Leave a comment
